Argon recondensing method

Abstract

A method for condensing argon can include two flow streams interacting with each other in a heat exchanger found within a cold box: a stream of gaseous argon enters the heat exchanger to be cooled down below its liquefaction point by a stream of pressurized liquid nitrogen entering the heat exchanger. While passing through the heat exchanger, gaseous argon is gradually cooled down until it is condensed into liquid, flowing by gravity to the nearby liquid argon storage tank.

Claims

1. A method for recovering boil-off gas during the loading and unloading of liquid argon, the method comprising the steps of: (a) providing an argon boil-off gas; (b) providing a pressurized liquid nitrogen having a nitrogen pressure above atmospheric pressure effective to cause the liquid nitrogen to have a liquid/vapor equilibrium temperature above the freezing temperature of the argon boil-off gas; (c) heat exchanging the argon boil-off gas with the pressurized liquid nitrogen in a heat exchanger under conditions effective to recondense the argon boil-off gas to produce a condensed liquid argon and a warmed nitrogen stream, the heat exchanger disposed within a cold box; (d) introducing the condensed liquid argon to an argon storage vessel; and (e) adjusting a vent valve in fluid communication with a top portion of the nitrogen separator, wherein the vent valve is adjusted based on a condensation rate of the argon boil-off gas within the heat exchanger, wherein the pressurized liquid nitrogen is stored in a nitrogen separator prior to step (c), the nitrogen separator being disposed within the cold box.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vent valve is disposed outside of the cold box and is accessible by a user without accessing the inside of the cold box.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of measuring the liquid level of the liquid nitrogen within the nitrogen separator and adjusting a flow rate of liquid nitrogen flowing from a liquid nitrogen storage to the nitrogen separator.

4. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the flow rate of liquid nitrogen is adjusted by controlling a pump and/or a control valve.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of introducing the warmed nitrogen stream from the heat exchanger to the nitrogen separator.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5, further comprising a step of withdrawing a nitrogen vent gas from the nitrogen separator.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, further comprising adjusting the flow rate of the nitrogen vent gas as a function of an argon condensation rate of step (c).

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the steps of measuring the pressure within the nitrogen separator; measuring the liquid level within the nitrogen separator; and measuring the temperature within the nitrogen separator.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the respective measurements are taken using transmitters that are connected to a distributed control system (DCS), wherein the DCS is in communication with a plurality of valves that are configured to adjust process parameters, the process parameters being selected from the group consisting of pressure within the nitrogen separator, flow rate of liquid nitrogen introduced to the nitrogen separator from a liquid nitrogen storage vessel, flow rate of the argon boil-off gas entering the heat exchanger, and combinations thereof.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heat exchanger is a brazed aluminum heat exchanger.

11. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cold box is supported at an elevation above the argon storage vessel, such that the argon storage vessel is gravity fed.

12. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the argon boil-off gas originates from a location selected from the group consisting of the argon storage vessel, a road tanker, a rail car, and combinations thereof.

13. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of routing all piping going to or from the cold box through a stainless steel plate disposed on a casing of the cold box.

14. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pressure of the pressurized liquid nitrogen is at a pressure between 15 and 30 psig.

15. A method for recovering boil-off gas during the loading and unloading of liquid argon, the method comprising the steps of: (a) providing an argon boil-off gas; (b) providing a pressurized liquid nitrogen having a nitrogen pressure above atmospheric pressure effective to cause the liquid nitrogen to have a liquid/vapor equilibrium temperature above the freezing temperature of the argon boil-off gas; (c) introducing the pressurized liquid nitrogen to a nitrogen separator; (d) heat exchanging the argon boil-off gas with the pressurized liquid nitrogen from the nitrogen separator in a heat exchanger under conditions effective to recondense the argon boil-off gas to produce a condensed liquid argon and a warmed nitrogen stream, the heat exchanger disposed within a cold box; (e) introducing the condensed liquid argon to an argon storage vessel; (f) introducing the warmed nitrogen stream from the heat exchanger to the nitrogen separator; (g) withdrawing a nitrogen vent gas from the nitrogen separator; (h) measuring the pressure within the nitrogen separator; (i) measuring the liquid level within the nitrogen separator; and (j) measuring the temperature within the nitrogen separator.

16. The method as claimed in claim 15, wherein the respective measurements of steps (h)-(j) are sent to a controller, wherein the controller is in communication with a plurality of valves that are configured to adjust process parameters, the process parameters being selected from the group consisting of the pressure within the nitrogen separator, a flow rate of liquid nitrogen introduced to the nitrogen separator from a liquid nitrogen storage vessel, a flow rate of the argon boil-off gas entering the heat exchanger, and combinations thereof.

17. The method as claimed in claim 16, wherein the plurality of valves are disposed outside of the cold box and are accessible by a user without accessing the inside of the cold box.

18. The method as claimed in claim 16, further comprising the step of performing maintenance on at least one of the plurality of valves without accessing the inside of the cold box.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, claims, and accompanying drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the drawings illustrate only several embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of the invention's scope as it can admit to other equally effective embodiments.

(2) The FIGURE shows an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(3) While the invention will be described in connection with several embodiments, it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the invention to those embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover all the alternatives, modifications and equivalence as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention defined by the appended claims.

(4) In one embodiment, the apparatus includes a brazed aluminum heat exchanger installed in an elevated casing, a cold box, insulated to prevent heat gains from the ambient atmosphere. In one embodiment, the cold box can be physically elevated above the liquid argon storage tank to allow condensed argon to flow back by gravity to the storage tank.

(5) In another embodiment, a process for condensing argon is provided. In one embodiment, the process can include two flow streams, preferably counter flow, interacting with each other in the heat exchanger: a stream of gaseous argon enters the heat exchanger to be cooled down below its liquefaction point by a stream of pressurized liquid nitrogen entering the heat exchanger. While passing through the heat exchanger, gaseous argon is gradually cooled down until it is condensed into liquid, flowing then freely to the nearby liquid argon storage tank.

(6) In one embodiment, all valves and instrumentation can be located outside of the cold box, and preferably, at ground level. This will greatly facilitate maintenance and operation, while avoiding the need for any platforms or ladders to be installed to access the cold box. In another embodiment, all piping going to or from the cold box can be routed through a stainless steel plate on the cold box casing. In a preferred embodiment, the choice of a resilient material, such as stainless steel, is made to counteract the extremely cold temperatures of the piping being in contact with the casing at entry points.

(7) In one embodiment, to avoid freezing of the argon, liquid nitrogen within a separator vessel (i.e., nitrogen separator) is at a sufficient pressure in order to ensure that its liquid/vapor equilibrium temperature is just above the argon freezing temperature. In one embodiment, the liquid nitrogen pressure can be maintained and controlled via a pressure controller which is sensing the internal pressure of the separator vessel, when the higher pressure setting is reached, the vent valve opens until the normal setting is re-established, then the valve closes. In another embodiment, the vent valve may act as a back-pressure for the entire loop. In one embodiment, the liquid nitrogen source can be coming from high pressure storages or from the liquid nitrogen pump while the discharge pressure will be regulated down to meet the required pressure for condensing the argon.

(8) In one embodiment, to maintain a constant level in the separator vessel, liquid nitrogen can be automatically pumped from a liquid nitrogen storage. Automation of this embodiment can be realized by having temperature, pressure, and level transmitters, connected to a DCS, controlling an automated level valve and pump controls. Nitrogen pressure and optionally liquid level in nitrogen separator, which control the liquid nitrogen temperature and thus argon condensation rate and liquid argon temperature, can be controlled by an automated vent valve in fluid communication with the nitrogen separator. In one embodiment, the temperature of the nitrogen within the nitrogen separator can be measured by measuring the temperature of the nitrogen at outlet/inlet lines coming from/going into the cold box. This allows temperature measurements to be taken without having to access the inside of the cold box.

(9) In an additional embodiment, the method can also include adjusting the storage and/or operating pressure of the liquid nitrogen, such that the liquid nitrogen has a liquid/vapor equilibrium temperature that is warmer than the freezing point of the boil-off gas, thereby reducing the risk of solids forming within the heat exchanger and/or lines. As an example, argon becomes a solid at about 309 F. and nitrogen has a boiling point of about 321 F. at 1 atm. However, by maintaining liquid nitrogen within a pressure range of 15-30 psig, the boiling point of the liquid nitrogen rises to about 300 F. to 308 F., thereby eliminating the opportunity of creating solid argon.

(10) The FIGURE illustrates a process flow diagram in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Argon storage vessel 10 contains liquid argon. During loading of argon into argon storage vessel 10, the pressure within argon storage vessel 10 increases. In order to prevent an unsafe condition, boil-off gas is withdrawn as stream 12 and sent to heat exchanger 20 to be condensed therein. Heat exchanger 20 is located within cold box 70 and is in an elevated position relative to argon storage vessel 10, such that condensed argon 22 can be gravity fed to argon storage vessel 10.

(11) Argon storage vessel 10 is configured to receive and/or transfer liquid argon to a road tanker 50 and/or a rail car 60. Additionally, stream 12 can include argon boil-off gas from argon storage vessel 10, as well as road tanker 50 and rail car 60.

(12) Nitrogen separator 30 contains a volume of liquid nitrogen. During operation, liquid nitrogen is fed via stream 32 to the cold end of heat exchanger 20 and exchanges heat with the incoming argon gas, resulting in condensed argon 22 and warmed nitrogen 34. In the embodiment shown, warmed nitrogen 34 is recycled back to nitrogen separator 30. In an alternate embodiment, warmed nitrogen 34 can be vented to the atmosphere.

(13) In the embodiment shown, the condensation rate of the argon can be controlled by controlling the temperature of the liquid nitrogen, which is ultimately affected by the nitrogen pressure of nitrogen separator 30. Additionally, the nitrogen pressure of nitrogen separator 30 can be directly controlled by the flow rate of nitrogen vent gas 36, which can be controlled by vent valve 46.

(14) In the embodiment shown, pressure indicator 40 and liquid indicator 42 measure the pressure and liquid levels, respectively, within nitrogen separator 30, and transmit those measurements to a controller 80, preferably of the distributed control system (DCS) type. The controller 80 then adjusts the flow rates of argon gas (stream 12), nitrogen vent gas 36, and liquid nitrogen 38, via valves 44, 46, and 48, respectively. Cold box 70 is preferably supported by support structure (not shown), which is configured to physically support the cold box at an elevated height as compared to argon storage vessel 10. While not indicated as such in the FIGURE, all valves and other instrumentation (e.g., 40, 42, 44, 46, 48, 80) are preferably located near ground level such that they can be accessed by an operator without the use of any other lifting equipment (e.g., ladders, stairs, lifts, etc . . . ). This will greatly facilitate maintenance and operation, while avoiding the need for any platforms or ladders to be installed to access the cold box. In a preferred embodiment, the insides of the cold box, which in one embodiment contains essentially only piping, insulation, the nitrogen separator, and the heat exchanger, will be essentially maintenance free.

(15) While the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variations as fall within the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims. The present invention may suitably comprise, consist or consist essentially of the elements disclosed and may be practiced in the absence of an element not disclosed. Furthermore, language referring to order, such as first and second, should be understood in an exemplary sense and not in a limiting sense. For example, it can be recognized by those skilled in the art that certain steps or devices can be combined into a single step/device.

(16) The singular forms a, an, and the include plural referents, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

(17) Optional or optionally means that the subsequently described event or circumstances may or may not occur. The description includes instances where the event or circumstance occurs and instances where it does not occur.

(18) Ranges may be expressed herein as from about one particular value, and/or to about another particular value. When such a range is expressed, it is to be understood that another embodiment is from the one particular value and/or to the other particular value, along with all combinations within said range.